The annual Fish Tent fundraiser for the Brown County Volunteer Fire Dept. has been canceled for 2022.
A variety of factors, including price increases and increased workload on volunteers, contributed to the decision to cancel.
“It takes approximately 1,200 volunteer hours to put the Fish Tent on annually. Those hours are on top of mandatory meetings, training, maintenance, responding to runs, and all of us work full time jobs,” said Lacy Hazelgrove, president of the department.
The fire department has been hosting the fried fish fundraiser on the courthouse lawn each October since 1954. It has only been canceled one other time, which was during the pandemic in 2020.
“Since the incorporation of our fire department, the Fish Tent fundraiser has been our largest fundraiser and brought in much-needed revenue to keep the department operating,” Hazelgrove explained.
In place of the Fish Tent, the fire department will be relying on proceeds from other fundraisers such as the Red Line Ride and community donations.
“The Red Line Ride brought in $4,000 dollars this year. We still had a decent turnout despite the soggy day,” Hazelgrove said.
“We lost a lot of motorcycle riders because of the rain but the Jeeps showed up and out in full force.”
The fire department relies on fundraisers for operational expenses. They receive $20,000 a year from the town of Nashville and $45,000 a year from Washington township.
After insurance and fuel expenses, they are left with $25,000 to pay monthly utilities, incidental costs, out-of-county training opportunities and apparatus maintenance.
To learn more about the Brown County Volunteer Fire Department, upcoming fundraisers and ways to donate, visit browncountyvfd.org.
